When it comes to achieving academic equity, it’s been a tough few years for K–12 schools and the students they serve.
Between the pandemic and the heightened politicization of K–12 education, school districts around the nation face a difficult and critical question around academic equity: How can they meet the needs of every student and ensure the best possible outcomes?
Hanover’s Academic Equity Workbook can help you:
Evaluate different academic data points
Understand how performance data might differ between student subgroups
Explain key concepts
Create a framework for recording data
Ask the right questions to support further discussion
Investigating Academic Inequity in K–12 Public Schools
To ensure students have equal opportunity for success, districts across the country are prioritizing ways to improve outcomes in schools, especially as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have compounded so many inequities for students. District and school leaders can use this workbook to investigate and begin addressing achievement gaps, systemic inequities, and root causes.
A Systemic Problem Caused by Interconnected Factors
Equity is a process that provides each student with the support and resources needed to develop to their fullest academic and social potential. Achieving equitable outcomes and implementing equitable practices are complex problems affected by many interconnected school- and community-based factors.
Inequities in various student outcomes stem from a variety of school-based and external sources. These sources of inequity may compound for some students while not affecting others. A systemic, data-driven approach to addressing these issues requires districts to examine the sources of inequity that affect their own unique student populations.
“When considering how to best serve all students, it’s critical for districts to consider current and historic performance levels on academic metrics such as standardized tests, course grades, graduation rates, and participation in advanced courses and special education programs.“
Actionable Tools for Creating a Better Academic Equity Framework
Inequities and disparities result from a variety of root causes. To solve them, educators should identify the factors driving gaps in services or inequitable outcomes. In this workbook, we provide a series of actionable worksheets and tools that users can leverage to begin building a framework for supporting academic equity at the school- and district-level.
